Drain pipe clearer



Feb'- M, w35 N. vEnu-noRN ET m.. LQQSG DRAIN PIPE CLEARER Filed- Aug. 2', 1953 2 sheets-'sheet 1 Feb. 12, 1935. N,` EIN-HORN Er. L

DRAIN PIPE CLEARER `Filed Aug. 2, 1955 2 Sheets-'Sheet 2 YPatented Feb.'12,1935 .f i 1,990,686

1,990,686 i DRAIN PIPE CLEARER Nathan Einhorn and Charles I. Einhorn, Philadelphia, Pa..-

Application AugustJ 2, `1933, serial No. 683,392 v claims. (o1. 15,-1104.30)

This invention relates to devices for removing sheath 'is a flexible shaft 10 which extends obstructions from drain pipes and has for its through both ends of the sheath'but is out of objecty the provision of a tool which willv be of contact with the walls thereof so that Vit may simple and inexpensive construction which will operate freely at allv times. The iiexible shaft 10 5 operate eiiiciently 'and easily and which may be extends above the upper end of the handle 7 and 5 very readily inserted in and withdrawn from the is there equipped with a crank 11, as shown in drain pipe..y 'The invention is illustrated inA thec Fig. 1, while at the opposite end of the shaft is accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter an annular enlargement or head 12'having an fully described, the novel features being p-arannular groove 13 therein and carrying on its ticularly defined-in the appended claims. outer side a threaded rod or screw 14. Disposed 10 In the drawings, Fig. 1Y is an elevation of our concentrically about the screw 14 is a sleeve or improved tool showing it in position 'in a drain hub l5 externally threaded at its inner end to be passage,` engaged by a nut 16 which nut nts around the Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section endof the sheath 6, as shown vclearly in Figs. 2

15 through the gripping jaws and immediately adand 5, andis'provided on the wall of its bore l5 jacent parts of thetoolshowing the jaws in open with av lug or rib 17 which engages loosely in position,` i v the notch- 9"in the liange 8. The parts are, so

Y Fig. v3 is asimilar view showing the jaws closed, proportioned that the nut 16 may have some Fig.` 3a is a section -Ataken yalong the line 3a-3EL longitudinal movementrelative to the sheath and of Fig'.'3,-j` Y j the ange so that the longitudinal movement fof 20 Fig. ,4 is atransverse section onli the line 4--4 the sheath, due to the lengthening and shortenof Fig; 2, g Y ing of the iiexible shaft when the latter is rotated Figf.5-is atransverse section onthe line 5 5 will be accommodated. fThenut 16 is provided of Fig. 2, l y 1 with anenlarged bore,` the outer end of which "Fig;.j6 is a longitudinal section sho-wing atmodi-v is threaded to engage the threaded Yend of the hub 25 cation; -1 V n A j K ror sleeve 15 and the inner portion of the enlarged Fig. .7 is agtransverse section onl the line 7--7 bore is smooth, as shown at 18. A race ring 19 of Fig.16, .i l is tted within the smooth -bore 18 landbears i Fig.-8 is atransversesection on, the line'S-S against the base or shoulder 20 defined by the of Fig. 6, v bore,y this race ring providing ones-fourth of a 30 ."wFig. 9 `is afdetail showing a slight modification. track forvbearing balls 21, said balls being re- ;In carrying -out the invention we provide a ceived in the annular groove 13 and in an annular guidetube 1 which, `as shown in Fig. `1,has one recess formed in the inner end of the sleeve o-r end `formed in a curve extending laterally from hub 15, as clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3.' The the -mai n portion of the tube, as shown at -2, shaft and the head 12 may thus rotate freely in 35 whereby it may t around a wall 3 above'the the hub and the nut while the balls constitute drain passage 4 jof a bowl, as illustrated in Fig. 1. stops to prevent longitudinal movement of the The tube is-open throughout its length and the head and the screw in the hub or housing sleeve. extremity of its lower curved end is directed out- It should be noted that the outer surface Yof the wardly, as shown `at 5, so as to provide a curved nut is convex. so that it will present no sharp guidingsurface which will permit the head of the corners or abrupt shoulders to impede the withtool to t against the end of the tube without drawalof the tool by catching on projections or catching thereon and being bentor causedto reshoulders, such as shown at 22, which may b lease` the obstructing accumulation vwhich has present in the drain passage.

. .UNITEDSTATESPATENT OFFICE guide tube is preferably of such length that it may vided with an annular groove in its outer pebe Aplaced. within a bowl and have its upper end riphery,A and formed inthe inner walls of the at the rimof the `bowl so lthat the .toolf may be hub or sleeve 15 -are llongitudinal grooves 24. A easily'manipulated. f Thetool comprises la` ilexi-v series of beads 25, connected together by flexible ble sheath G-which is ofwell-known construction links 26, are provided to connect the plunger 23 50 andis xed at one Vend to a handle member 7, with the gripping jaws 27, and the bead at one as will be understood. Thefopposite end of the end of the series of beads is seated in the annular sheath is provided withanannular flange 8 havgroove of the plunger and also in the adjacent ing anotchQ in its margin, thepurpose of which groove `2li of the hub so that, as shown in Fig. 4, will presently appear. Extending through the. the-bead willgserve as a,spline connecting the 55 been withdrawn from theJ drain passage. VThe Fitted upon the screw 14 is a plunger 23 pros 45 plunger and the hub so that they cannot have relative rotation but the plunger may move longitudinally of the hub. The mouth of the hub or sleeve 15 is flared, as shown at 28, so that a suitable guiding surface for the series of beads will be provided and the beads will not encounter any abrupt formation which would interfere with the operation of the device. The sleeve or hub 15 is provided upon-its outer side with pairs of lugs or ears 29 and the gripping jaws 27 are pivotally secured to and between said lugs. Four jaws are provided in the illustrated form of the invention and these jaws are arranged,equi-dis-y tantly around the hub, as shown in Fig. 4. Each jaw is formed of a channeled member of sheet metal having a hollow boss 30 struck inwardly from its base between its ends to receive the outermost bead 25. The inner end portion of the boss is provided with an opening throughy which the several links 26 may freely pass but the diameter of which is slightly less ythan the diameter of the beads so that the beads cannot pass therethrough. A keyhole slot 31 is formed in the jaw in advance of the boss 30 and leading to the boss so that the end bead may be slipped through the outer end of the slot until a link is in position to ride in the slot and the link and ball may then be moved longitudinally of the slot until the bead seats in the bossjas shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 3. The several jaws will thus be flexibly connected with the plunger 23 and will be caused to follow the movements of the same, the jaws being yieldably held inopen position by springs 32 which are coiled around the pivot bolts 33 and have their ends bearing respectively upon the hub and the inner face of the respective jaw. When the shaft 10 is rotated iso as to cause the plunger 23 to ride toward the inner end of the screw 14, the flexible connections between the plunger and the jaws will pull the jaws into closed gripping position while, when the shaft is rotated in the opposite direction, the springs 32 will open the jaws as the plunger moves outwardly and, consequently, the connecting chains will always be taut and will not become dislodged or so loose as to interfere with the successful use of the device. 1

While the series of beads, shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and above described, has certain advantages, a single bead 50 at each end of a flexible link 51, as shown in Fig. 9, may be substituted therefor and will operate efficiently.

Each jawhas teeth 34' fonned on' the edges of its side flanges which are adapted to engage the obstruction when the 'device is'operated so as to firmly grip the mass of material which has clogged the drain passage so that when thetool is withdrawn from the passage, the obstructing mass will also be withdrawn. In this connection, it is to be especially noted that the teeth diminish in height toward the ends of the jaws and at the extremities of the jaws are lips 35 which are tunied slightly inwardly to present convex surfaces to the walls of the drain passage when the tool is being inserted and to readily ride under the obstruction or between the obstruction and the walls of the passage instead of pushing the obstruction further into the passage.

It is thought the operation of the device will be readily understood from what has been said. When the toolis to be used, the guide tube is placed in position, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the lower'curved orvhorseshoe end of the tube will pass around the wall 3 and rest upon the dam 36 below said wall. The sheath is, of course',

housed in the guide tube when the parts of the tool are assembled and when the tube is placed in position the head of the tool will be seated in the lower outlet end of the guide tube, as will be understood. A push is then exerted upon the tool through the handle member rI so that the sheath and flexible shaft therein will move readily through and from the tube, the head of the tool being directed against the underside of the Wall or partition 3 and being thereby turned into a goose-neck formation, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, so that it will be directed toward the outer wall of the bowl and by it again deiiected downwardly. Ihe head will then pass to the bottom of the bowl and be directed to the outlet of the drain passage, as clearly shown. When the device is inserted, the gripping jaws 27 will be closed. When the jaws have reached the obstruction, which will be readily known by the forward movement of the sheath and attending parts being arrested, the crank 11 andthe flexible shaft 10 are rotated so that the screw 14 will be turned in the proper direction to cause the plunger 23 to ride outwardly and permit the jaws to open. The shaft is then pushed in as far as possible, and the shaft then rotated in the opposite direction to close the jaws about the obstructing mass and cause them to firmly grip the obstruction. A pull is then exerted upon the handle 7 whereupon the sheath and connected elements will be drawn from the drain passage until the nut 16 reaches the end of the guide tube whereupon the entire tool may be very readily withdrawn from the bowl.

'I'he exit end of the lower curved portion 2 of the guide tube is disposed at such an angle that the head of the tool will be directed obliquely against the walls of the drain passage and will not strike them abruptly to be turned directly backward or deiiected from the desiredpath but will automatically and readily turn so as Vto clear the corners and angles of the passage. Particular attention is invited to the curved lip formation, indicated at 5. By this formation, wefavoid the presentation of sharp edges (to the flexible sheath as it is being withdrawn so that the coils or turns of the sheath vwill not catch upon the end of the tube and arrest or interfere with the withdrawing movement'but will "ride easily into the` tube and pass therethrough. Y 1 In Figs. 6, 7 and 8 we have. illustrated a slight modification of the invention which, however, will operate in thesame manner as the form just described. In this modified arrangement, guide pulleys or rollers'37 are mounted at the mouth of the hub or sleeve 38 and cables` 39 are trained over these pulleys, the-inner ends of the cables being secured to the plunger 40 carried by the screw 14aL and the outer ends of the cables being secured to the gripping jaws 41, the cables being seated for half of their circumferential extent 'in the grooves 42 in the hub and for the other half of their circumferential extent being seated in the plunger so that the cables serve as splines to prevent relative rotation between the plunger and the hub. In both forms of the invention, a stop pin 43 or 43a is secured to or inserted through the hub near the mouth of the same with its free end ad'- jacent the threads on the screw 14 and disposed in the path of movement of the plunger to limit the outward movement oi' the plunger and prevent it from riding ofi' the end of the screw. "i Having thus described the invention, we claim:

1`. A tool forthe purpose set forth comprising arlexible sheath, a flexible shaft housed in and extending through the sheath, a threaded rod extending axially from theforwardfend of the shaft, a plunger threaded on said rod, a hub mounted on the forward end of said sheath and encircling the rod, gripping jaws pivotally mounted upon the hub, resilient means tending constantly to open the jaws, and flexible connections between the plunger and the jaws engaged with the hub to prevent relative rotation of the plunger and hub, said exible connections serving to close the jaws upon axial movement of the plunger during rotation of the shaft.

2. A tool of the character described comprising a flexible sheath, a flexible shaft extending through said sheath, a hub, a` nut for coupling the hub and forward end of the sheath, threaded upon the hub and being axially slidably and nonrotatably engaged about the sheath, the sheath and nut having cooperating anges for limiting sliding of the sheath rearwardly through the nut and the nut being held against rotation about the sheath, gripping jaws pivotally mounted on said hub, and means actuated by said shaft and engaged with the jaws for opening and closing the jaws when the shaft is rotated.

ping jaws pivotally mounted on the hub, and means actuated by said shaft and engaged with the jaws for opening and closing the jaws when the shaft is rotated;

4. A tool for the purpose set forth comprising a hub provided with longitudinal grooves in the wall of its bore, a screw disposed axially in the hub, means for rotating the screw, a plunger engaged upon the screw, gripping jaws pivotally mounted upon the hub, springs housed between the jaws and the hub and tending constantly to open the jaws, flexible connections between the jaws and the plunger, said connections seating in the grooves in the hub wherebyto prevent relative rotation of the plunger and hub, and means for limiting the outward movement of the plunger. v

5. A tool for the purpose set forth comprising a flexible shaft, a screw extending axially from the end of the shaft, a plunger mounted on the screw, a hub housing the screw and permitting rotation of the same, the hub being provided with longitudinal grooves in the walls of its bore, guide pulleys at the mouth of the hub, gripping jaws pivotally mounted upon the hub, resilient means tending constantly to open the jaws, and cables secured to the plunger and to the jaws and `having their intermediate portions trained over the guide pulleys, the cables seating in the grooves in the hub whereby to prevent relative rotation of the plunger and the hub.

NATHAN EINHORN. [L.s.] CHARLES I. EINHORN. [L.s.] 

